Athletics track on the cards for Rocklands

The first Sub-council 12 meeting of the year, chaired by Sheval Arendse, was held at the Lentegeur Council Chambers on Thursday January 19.

On the agenda were reports on C3 notifications regarding water, electricity and solid waste services; and the job seekers programme.

It also included discussions on the athletics track in Rocklands and announcements about water consumption and free wi-fi at the Mitchell’s Plain transport interchange.

A total of 416 C3 notifications for water services were lodged between October 1 to December 31 last year. For electricity services 10 were lodged, and for solid waste services, three, which included illegal dumping, inspection and street sweeping.

The councillors urged City official Ismail Green who works in the electricity department to respond to residents and to fix the problems as soon as possible.

Mr Arendse said residents were being mugged in the morning and evening. “It is dangerous at night if the street lights are broken. This is then an opportunity for thieves to rob and break-into the homes of residents,” he said.

Speaking about the water management devices, Solomon Philander (ward 79) said people often had to wait for more than 14 days to have their water meters fixed.

“There are complaints about a pipe-burst, leakages and people’s water being switched off for weeks. The problem lies in the operational section,” he said.

The City of Cape Town embarked on a door-to-door job-seekers programme between May and June last year, with sub-council staff capturing the information to update the job-seekers list.

In Ward 78, there were a total of 4 436 job-seekers; in Ward 79, 6 848; in Ward 81, 5 403; and in Ward 82 a total of 7 687.

According to the report, in each ward there were people among those who had previously registered as job-seekers, who were no longer available, who did not pitch for interviews or work, who were blacklisted, had incorrect contact numbers on record or did not response to voicemails, had changed their address or were under the age of 16.

Residents are urged to update their details at the sub-council office.

There were discussions about the proposed athletics track at JQ sports ground in Rocklands. The item, which was supported by councillors, will remain on the agenda.

Ward 81 councillor Danny Christians said the track would benefit schools and running clubs in the area. Mr Christians presented copies of an aerial view of the field. He said during the 1980s, police had used the track at JQ sports grounds extensively.

Mitchell’s commuters now have access to free wireless internet (wi-fi) at the public transport interchange (PTI) on the corner of AZ Berman and Westpoort Drive “Free wi-fi for commuters”, Plainsman, December 21). It will allow users 100MB of free data a day. The success of the pilot project will determine further roll-outs at PTIs across the city.

The City of Cape Town is urging residents to intensify their efforts to save water and to take responsibility for reporting contraventions in their communities.

According to the City, dam levels are at an all-time low with the water table reading at 44.3 percent.

People can report water wastage or contravention of the water restrictions, water.restrictions@capetown.gov.za

Festive season

Sub-council 12 thanked all uniform staff for their dedication during the festive season, noting that the City of Cape Town’s lifeguards had had their hands full with drownings and near-drownings.

During December, a total of 18 346 people flocked to Westridge pool, with 4 187 people using the facility during the first five days of January.

Mr Arendse said some of their biggest challenges were the influx of people wanting to enter into the pool when it reached capacity. “Another challenge was the water restrictions which make it difficult to clean the pools and the pass-out process. Residents did not want to repay to enter when they’ve left the premises even though there are signs around the pool prohibiting pass-outs.”

Mnandi Resort recorded more than 10 000 people at the beach during the December period and more than 3 000 people on January 1.

At Eastridge pool, a total of 14 252 people were the facility during December, and from January 1 to January 5, about 2 743 were at the pools. “Their biggest challenge was the lack of visibility by law enforcement (officers) and the constant vandalism of this facility,” he said.

Condolences

The sub-council offered its condolences to former councillor of Ward 81 Henry Busch (see story on page 14 , Social Development EPWP Expanded Public Works Programme, Leonard Wildeman and chairperson and founder of Greater Bulls, Anthony George see letter on page 2.